Why Taylor Lautner Left Hollywood: Twilight Fame Made Him 'Scared To Go Out'

Taylor Lautner is stepping back into the spotlight — and revealing his complicated feelings about it.

The Twilight star is making his comeback (with his new film Home Team) after taking a break from Hollywood for several years. Apart from a stint on the BBC sitcom Cuckoo, he hasn’t acted at all in over 5 years! But it seems like the hiatus gave the actor a lot of clarity about the insane level of success he experienced during his time as part of the infamous Bella-Jacob-Edward love triangle.

In a new interview with Today, the 29-year-old reflected on the reaction to the iconic vampire romance franchise. He said:

“Not many things in life can come and happen overnight. Fame can. It also can disappear overnight. When I was 16, 17, 18 years old, waking up and trying to just go out for a walk or go on a date and I had 12 cars waiting outside my house to follow me wherever I’m going or show up to an airport or anywhere, and you have thousands of fans screaming.”

The insanity forced the Scream Queens alum to avoid public places like grocery stores, malls, and movie theaters for a full decade. He explained:

“I went so many years either not leaving my house, or if I did, hat, sunglasses, and just like, scared. It built up something inside of me where, I didn’t know it, but I was scared to go out. I’d get super anxious to go out. So I just didn’t.”

When the 29-year-old was finally able to go to the store without a fuss, “It felt like freedom.” But there were downsides to his declining popularity, as well. He admitted:

“In the moment, it’s like, it got frustrating because you just wanted to live a normal life. But then, when that’s taken away from you at all, to start to question yourself and start to be like ‘Oh, do people not care about me anymore?’ And it goes away a little bit. You notice it and that’s the dangerous part, because that can really mess with your mind.”

Of course, the fan encounters never stopped completely, as he told People:

“Before that, to be honest, it was mainly the ‘Twi-moms’ that would still stop me in the streets.”

Taylor shared that “teenagers” have even started recognizing him again now that the Twilight movies are available to stream.

In his Today interview, he revealed that he feels “so much better today than I have in the last 4-5 years,” thanks in “large part” to his fiancée Taylor Dome (who is a Twilight fan but a “diehard Team Edward fan” BTW!). Asked if he felt like the “fame was worth it,” he replied:

“Four, five years ago, I would have said maybe I wish that I didn’t go through it. But if you ask me now, now I say, no, I am happy because of what it’s taught me. It’s made me who I am right now and for that I’m thankful.”

We’re so glad to hear that Taylor took the time he needs to get in a healthy headspace, and we’re really glad to see him making his comeback! Can’t wait to see his new film!

Ch-ch-check out the full interview (below):